20 restaurants favored by visitors to Japan
What restaurants do foreigners prefer when visiting Japan? Here are the 20 restaurants most frequently reserved* by foreign visitors in 2017.*Reserved through Savor Japan.
1. Miyazaki Beef Teppanyaki Steak Miyazaki-kan, Osaka
Spend an extraordinary time at the best Teppanyaki restaurant.
Miyazaki-kan has won the crown for the second straight year. Select Miyazaki beef and live seafood from a fish tank are prepared as teppanyaki (hot plate grilled) right at your table. The restaurant uses only Miyazaki beef made in-house - they are involved in every stage of the process, from production to management. They continues to attract customers with its polite services and thorough quality controls of Miyazaki beef.
2. En, Kyoto
Only the best. A story of transformation.
En’s owner chef, Takeo Suzuki, launched his career at Kyoto’s prestigious Hyotei restaurant. He then vaulted to fame by opening his own shop with an avant-garde interpretation of Japanese cuisine, using non-traditional ingredients like game meat and foie gras. Upon moving his restaurant closer to the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 2008, he began suffering health problems that changed his cooking philosophy. The transformation also inspired him to open up the kitchen and interact with customers.
“Never lie to yourself. That’s my motto when preparing cuisine for customers, He says with conviction. Regular guests from his former restaurant, aficionados from distant prefectures and gourmets from across the globe visit En to experience his once-in-a-lifetime dishes.
3. Teramachi Yoshikura, Kyoto
Kyo Kaiseki made with seasonal and natural ingredients.
Teramichi Yoshikura specializes in Kyo-kaiseki, a Kyoto-style banquet cuisine that emphasizes the seasonality of local ingredients to evoke their true flavors and aromas. This serious attention to seasonality extends to the sushi selection as well. Great care is taken in the display of each and every dish, dishware the ingredients together becoming works of edible art. Teramichi Yoshikura has also curated a premium selection of difficult-to-acquire sake and shochu varieties of Japanese liquor to suit their specialty dishes.
4. Sumibi Yakiniku Tsurugyu
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At Osaka yakiniku restaurant Sumibi Yakiniku Tsurugyu, staff pay special attention to ensure a relaxed dining atmosphere among its stylish natural wood interior. Tsurugyu is covered by foreign media and frequented by bloggers from abroad.
5. Makimura
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At Makimura, one of the best Kaiseki restaurant in Tokyo, discover traditional Japanese cuisine made with choice ingredients and served in a calming atmosphere for those with mature tastes and a discerning palate. "Taichazuke", the authentic dish, made with simple ingredients like fresh sea bream, rice, and green tea is highly recommended.
5. Yakiniku Motoyama Shinjuku Branch
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Yakiniku Motoyama offers high-quality kuroge wagyu beef from Miyazaki prefecture, known for its excellent balance of lean meat and marbling. For diners who may find Japanese beef too rich or fatty, the “Lean Meat Jungle”—an item from the secret menu featuring a selection of five fresh cuts of lean meat varying daily—comes highly recommended.
7. Ubuka
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This restaurant specializes in Japanese shellfish such as botan ebi (botan shrimp), ise ebi (lobster) and zuwai (snow crab), which are served in various fried, steamed and sashimi dishes with matching wine and Japanese sake.
8. Matsunaga Bokujo Ginza Main Branch
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Yakiniku in Tokyo has never been more diverse than at Matsunaga Bokujo, where a grand total of 18 different courses for every taste, from parties of young women to important business dinners, are on offer.
8. Muromachi Wakuden
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Muromachi Wakuden offers counter seating where guests may observe the chef, a master at the height of his craft whose dishes perfectly embody the seasonality of Kyoto kaiseki.
8. Sumibi Yakiniku Goemon Sannomiya Branch
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Kobe yakiniku—with specialty beef as its main ingredient—is the highlight at Sumibi Yakiniku Goemon Sannomiya, an ideal dining location for families, friends, and couples.
11. Yakiniku and Seafood Kaen Shinjuku East Exit Branch
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Conveniently located near the east exit of Shinjuku Station, Kaen is the place to go for grilled meat and seafood. Because Kaen orders its stock of high-quality A5-grade Japanese black kuroge wagyu beef cattle by the head, they offer premium meat—from rare cuts such as “top blade” and “chuck flap” and even the giblets—not easily obtainable anywhere else.
12. Sushi Fujita
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At Sushi Fujita, the chef prioritizes using fresh and seasonal ingredients for their sushi and other exquisite delicacies. Savor the tender texture and refreshing taste of conger eel in a modern Japanese interior.
13. Honkaku Edomae Zushi Matsuki Sushi
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Honkaku Edomae Zushi Matsuki Sushi exists for those savvy consumers who feel that one should never have to choose between surf or turf. The Hida beef kaiseki course meal, a stellar blend of both, includes a juicy Hida beef steak, an 8-piece set of the sushi of the day, crab soup, and pudding made from fresh Hida cattle milk.
13. Sushi Hanayoshi
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Looking for a place to eat carefully-selected seafood in Niseko,Hokkaido? Sushi Hanayoshi comes highly recommended! The owner takes 2 hours to go to the fish market in Sapporo every day and select them himself.
15. Yuba Higashiyamayuuzu
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Yuba - tofu skin - is a quintessential Kyoto food, making a meal at Yuba Higashiyamayuuzu the perfect compliment to a day of cherry blossoming viewing at Maruyama-koen Park.
15. Teppan-yaki Kokoro
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One of the finest dining locations in Kobe, Teppan-yaki Kokoro transforms Kobe beef into delectable dishes using vibrant culinary techniques that are expertly complemented by the breathtaking ocean view from the window.
15. Premium Wagyu Steak Hanasato
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The restaurant always tries to serve with seasonal vegetables to show the season. Some vegetables come from Kyoto, in order to add a hint of the current season to each plate.
18. Kyoto Gion Tempura Yasaka Endo
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As the wonderfully crispy tempura of Kyoto Gion Tempura Yasaka Endo proves, the question of what to eat in Kyoto is often a seasonal one. Their fresh, locally-sourced ingredients follow the seasons, from young sweetfish or bamboo shoots in the spring, to goby fish, matsutake mushrooms, and ginkgo nuts in the fall fried in the highest quality cottonseed oil.
19. Otaru Masazushi Zenan
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Enjoy the select natural tuna nigiri sushi with a great view of the Otaru canal. The select natural tuna here at Otaru Masazushi comes from large tuna that weigh between 300 and 350 kg. It is very fatty, making it an excellent sushi topping with a flavor hard to find at other restaurants.
19. Teppanya Benbe Mita Branch
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Teppanyaki Benbe Mita, located in downtown Tokyo’s Hamamatsucho area, specializes in teppan cuisine—fine ingredients cooked artfully atop an iron griddle. The house dish, sea urchin with spinach and soft-cooked egg over a crisp baguette, is well known throughout the country after being featured on Japanese television.
Our ranking clearly shows that foreigners visiting Japan have excellent taste. They prefer high-end wagyu beef restaurants and restaurants with star ratings, followed by washoku (Japanese cuisine)and sushi restaurants. We hope this article helps you enjoy a wonderful dining experience in Japan.